-1403- [ Vibel ]

The sight that greeted Chloe Sevegny was an office both luxurious and spacious, exuding an aura of grandeur.

The office was furnished with numerous antique pieces and adorned with expensive decorations. Plush carpeting covered the floor, and a nearly wall-sized window facing the entrance allowed sunlight to pour in, creating a picturesque setting.

In this office, there was a desk.

Piled high with documents related to the operations of the Sky Wizard Division, it dominated the room.

At the other end of this desk, a young girl sat.

"So you've arrived."

Raising her head from the mound of paperwork, the girl had shoulder-length black hair and wore the long-skirted uniform of a female undergraduate at Mistgun.

Even through the uniform, her voluptuous figure was noticeable. A teardrop-shaped mole beneath her left eye added to her cool demeanor, giving off an impression of a strong woman.

Chloe responded with a slight smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

This girl was none other than Freon Flamel, the head of the Sky Wizard Division and one of the ten members of the highest authority in Mistgun, the committee.

She was a third-year undergraduate student in the Sky Wizard Division, renowned as a genius in Mistgun. She had joined a C-ranked squad in her second year of preparatory school and reached A-rank by her third year, thus becoming the head of the Sky Wizard Division. She managed and oversaw all operations of the Sky Wizard Division and was responsible for Mistgun's defense.

Given her position, she naturally interacted frequently with the ace special squad of Mistgun. Any major event required prior consultation with the special squad's captain.

However, since Rozen had delegated all squad matters to Chloe, she had been the one receiving orders and instructions directly from Freon, making them well-acquainted and rare friends.

Because of this, Chloe knew Freon would bring up an old topic.

For instance...

"Still haven't persuaded Rorelei Arneet to abandon his idea to transfer to the Alchemist Division?"

Freon got straight to the point without any preamble.

"No," Chloe shook her head. "No matter how much I persuade him, Rozen refuses to give up on transferring to the Alchemist Division. It's really frustrating."

This comment earned her a small glare from Freon.

"I bet you haven't even tried persuading him. Everyone knows you do whatever he says."

Freon sighed, clearly exasperated.

Seeing this, Chloe didn't deny it and asked with a smile.

"Is it the people from Vibel pressuring you again?"

—Vibel.

That was the Pope's floating city and the headquarters of the Floating City Alliance, holding supreme authority over all floating cities.

Hundreds of years ago, humans fled the earth infested with Armored Beetles and sought refuge in floating cities, forming the Floating City Alliance.

As the name suggests, it was an alliance governing all floating cities, aimed at ensuring human survival and resisting the threat of Armored Beetles.

The alliance's headquarters was in Vibel, making it the center of the human race. The alliance's central command was located there, while other floating cities were under Vibel's supervision and management, each performing its designated tasks.

Mistgun, as an academic floating city, primarily aimed to train sky wizards, with other functions being secondary.

In addition to academic floating cities like Mistgun, there were floating cities designed to shelter ordinary humans, protecting humanity's remnants. There were also satellite-like floating cities, fortress floating cities on the front lines defending against Armored Beetles, and those that acted as defense bases in dangerous airspaces around the continent.

Thanks to these defense-oriented floating cities, human defensive lines were strengthened, reducing threats and decreasing the number of floating cities destroyed by Armored Beetles. Therefore, fortress floating cities were the most crucial after the Pope's floating city. Without them, humans couldn't resist the Armored Beetles.

Rozen's outstanding performance had previously caught the attention of the council members in Vibel. He was specially dispatched several times to aid fortress floating cities in crises, fighting on the front lines against Armored Beetles.

During these battles, Rozen achieved unprecedented victories, displaying not only incredible strength but also exceptional intellect and leadership, causing a sensation in Vibel. They eventually wanted to transfer Rozen to the headquarters of the Floating City Alliance.

Unfortunately, Rozen refused.

"I haven't graduated yet; there's still much to learn."

Using this as an excuse, Rozen made Vibel's people regretfully let him return to Mistgun.

Thus, when Rozen announced his intention to leave the front lines and transfer to the Alchemist Division, Vibel was alarmed, sending council members to dissuade him, albeit in vain. Ultimately, they made an exception, allowing Rozen to freely attend courses and use the Alchemist Division's facilities and equipment.

This indicated just how valued Rozen was.

Even after a year, Vibel continued to monitor Mistgun closely—more accurately, Rozen—urging Mistgun to find ways to make Rozen abandon his transfer plans.

While many council members ceased persuading him as Rozen's impressive talents in the Alchemist Division emerged, contributing countless advanced techniques and technology and advancing human magic technology by half a century, some council members focused solely on Rozen's combat prowess kept pressuring Mistgun to dissuade him.

Had they not feared offending Rozen and been mutually restrained, they might have taken more drastic measures by now.

Consequently, as the head of the Sky Wizard Division, Freon constantly endured pressure from above, trying to make Rozen give up his transfer idea.

However, Freon had no effective means to do so and could only repeatedly send Chloe, Rozen's childhood friend, to persuade him. Chloe's repeated failures were disappointing.

"That man is just a constant source of trouble."

Freon gritted her teeth in frustration.

It was evident that this issue had caused Freon considerable worry and pressure.

Chloe could only respond with a helpless smile.